I type in on Google ''English in 30 days'' and I get 12.900 results. Then I change it to ''English in 6 months'' and I get 15 million results. Those people who have learned a second language for a long time know that neither 30 days nor 180 days are enough to master a second language.

A few days ago I visited Duolingo which is a project provided with $18.3. From my viewpoint this is fully flawed since it is about translating sentences from a given language into another which is OK if you need to pass an exam yet it is way too far from mastering a second language. The same goes to Rosetta Stone, Babbel and other well-known ones.

And then you bump into an entertaining guy, familiar, as if you had known him for years, the kind of friend you'd like to have who with the help of a plain camera in his apartment and a white board as a background, produces 90% of his body of work for FREE, as introducing the kind of method you really are fully satisfied with. Is that it, how come?!That's right Mr Peterson. Your method is much better than projects provided with millions of dollars. But what it is to be taken pride in for you may be something to be worried about for me and the reason is that they keep using the wrong approach from primary school to higher education and also through big companies.

Other English material you might find helpful, MrDuncan, Luke's English podcast, English Anyone... If you want to add more leave a comment down below and help other students.

It's just that most people are not willing to put their best foot forward, put their issues aside and not take it out on others! I also have problems yet I go out of my way to put my best foot forward!

With the arrival of the spring a lotta people suffer sneezing fits. If you are one of them just go see a doctor so that you can be prescribed something. A friend of mine is a doctor, he might see you and he won't charge you anything.

Tomorrow... I don't think so. The day after tomorrow? I don't know, I'll call him and ask him. He usually has a busy schedule though. I'll try to get him to see you early next week. Bummer... do I have to wait that long? Oh come on! It's free ''beggars can't be choosers''!

These days kids get started learning English from the age of 3 in the Public schools. Since Schooling in Spain is compulsory from the ages of 6 to 16, kids spend 13 years learning English, which should be enough to be able to keep a day-to-day conversation.

When it comes to learning a foreign language, the earlier you begin, the better. Therefore the greatest endeavor should be carried out through both Pre-School and Primary School (3-12) particularly during the early years. During this time developing the listening skills should be put on the front burner as doing away with grammar. On the internet there is lots of both free material and for a fee .

Inour country (Spain) kids are taught the same year in year out: numbers, colors, verb To Be etc. Sometimes teachers don't even know how to speak fluently in a given language. Of course, they have no problems with it on paper.Al llegar a la secundaria (13-16 años) debería basarse el sistema en la escucha y la pronunciación y a mantener conversaciones normales.

In Secondary School (13-16) they should work on listening and pronunciation aimed for being able to keep casual, day-to-day discussions. Let's look at the Finnish system, so called the best in the world. It's a documentary in English with Spanish subtitles where an American teacher travels to Finland to check what its success lies in: Da gusto oír a esos adolescente expresarse en inglés, cuando aquí no pasan del "present perfect"

It's delightful hearing those youngsters expressing themselves in English, while in Spain they don't go beyond the ''Present Perfect''. There are nice tool on the Internet. A case in point: Daily Dictation. It is a top shelf tool. These days classrooms have all kinds of thechological resources available. They may take advantage of things like Daily Dictation by downloading it and showing it on a TV screen. They may work using something like Daily Dictation for 10 - 15 minutes and for the rest of the class they may elaborate over it.

Here an example with Shane - Coach Shane - in Seoul. Obivously it is aimed at Koreans, although we get the picture.

Not everyone has the chance to dwell in an English speaking country like England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, USA to get the possibility to talk with native speakers on a regular basis. Having the possibility to talk with native speakers on a regular basis is a perk which might help you build your English confidence, but... Will that really be helpful for your pronunciation? Do you believe that native speakers out there in the real world are going to be willing to correct your pronunciation just because it bothers you? Do you believe that native speakers out there even think about the sounds they make as they speak naturally in their day-to day life? Do you believe that native speakers out there are going to bother to correct you every time you mispronounce as lecturing you on how you need to do it properly? Honestly, the answer to all those questions is pretty much NO.

Otra ventaja de vivir en un país angloparlante es que estas rodeado por palabras en inglés... grandes almacenes, transporte, television, radio... todo ello hace que te familiarizes con la cultura y su vocabulario, pero... de nuevo... ¿te ayudará eso a tu pronunciación? Más bien poco. Another advantage about living in an English speaking country is the fact that you're surrounded by it. It is everywhere, shopping malls, transport, TV, Radio... As a result you become familiar with the culture and its vocabulary, but... once again... will that be helpful for your pronunciation? Rather little. Coach Shane es el nativo que te ayuda a entender lo que ni los nativos en el mundo real ni los profesores de inglés no nativos....( y muchos nativos) no harán: Como hablan los nativos en realidad. Su método basado en unas reglas de pronunciación encajan con la realidad en un 90%. ¿Qué ocurre con el 10% restante? Bueno, son las excepciones que tienen todas las normas y no hay conflicto, en realidad pueden complementarse. Coach Shane is that native English speaker, who will help you figure out what native speakers out there nor English teachers who are not native speakers - (and many natives too) - won't do. How the actual native talk works. His method is based on a bunch of rules which apply, match reality 90%. So what about the reminding 10%? Now, 10% represents the exception that proves the rule and turns out they don't clash, actually they pretty much are complementary.

With regard to the native speaker, not any native speaker will work it out fine with you. You need to get the proficient one. That one is Coach Shane whose approach will mark you deeply in such a way that you will tell when listening to other native speakers and will wish you had come across him much sooner.

lunes, 17 de febrero de 2014

Me gustaría mejorar mi inglés sobremanera... A veces pienso que tal vez no soy bueno en eso porque no tengo la habilidad necesaria... ¿Qué piensas que podría hacer? ¿Debería aceptar que es demasiado tarde y que no estoy hecho para esto? I'd like to improve my English dramatically. Sometimes I think that maybe I'm not good at it because I don't have a flare for it... What do you think I might do? Should I accept it is too late for me as well as I'm not cut out for it? Sinceramente, si quieres mejorar tu inglés todo se resume a Pronuncuación. Comprensión oral. Cultura. Dedicación. Esfuerzo. Disciplina. Hacer un hábito de ello. Así de sencillo. Es que no hay más. Honestly, if you want to improve your English that much It all comes down to Pronunciation. Listening comprehension. Devotion. Effort. Discipline. Make it a habit. It is that simple. That's it.